India-Myanmar ties: PM Modi urges ‘fair and inclusive’ elections in meeting with Junta Chief
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Myanmar’s military ruler Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on August 31, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China. During the meeting, Modi expressed hope that the upcoming elections in Myanmar would be conducted in a “fair and inclusive” manner involving all stakeholders.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi reiterated India’s support for a “Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned peace process,” emphasising that dialogue and consultation are the only viable path toward stability. The two leaders also reviewed bilateral ties and discussed cooperation in areas such as development partnership, defence and security, border management, and connectivity projects under India’s Act East policy.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that Modi welcomed Myanmar’s election announcement and underlined that dialogue was key to fostering peace. However, Myanmar’s state-run media claimed India had agreed to send election observers and support Myanmar’s SCO membership bid, claims not reflected in the MEA’s statement.
Rights groups condemned Modi’s outreach, saying it risked legitimising the junta, which seized power in 2021 by toppling Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung accused India of “propping up a criminal junta” and warned that sending observers could grant credibility to what it described as a “sham electoral process.”
The planned elections, scheduled to begin in phases from December 28, have drawn criticism for excluding Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Hlaing has threatened punitive action against critics of the polls, further deepening doubts about their legitimacy.
Modi’s meeting with the Myanmar military chief follows his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, his first visit to China in seven years, as India navigates regional diplomacy aimed at balancing China’s influence in Southeast Asia.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and I held talks in Tianjin. Myanmar is a vital pillar of India’s Act East and Neighbourhood First Policies. We both agreed that there is immense scope to boost ties in areas like trade, connectivity, energy, rare earth mining and security. pic.twitter.com/Sxs32TsiTK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2025
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pawar, Athawale, Tawde set to get elected to Rajya Sabha
Mumbai (PTI): Six candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and BJP leader Vinod Tawde, and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Sharad Pawar, are set to get elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.
On the last day of filing nominations for the March 16 elections for seven seats from Maharashtra, only seven candidates filed their papers at Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai on Thursday.
Pawar, 85, was not present at Vidhan Bhawan owing to ill-health. His daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule filed the papers on his behalf.
ALSO READ: 'Betrayal of people's mandate': Tejashwi on Nitish's Rajya Sabha entry
Besides Athawale and Tawde, the BJP fielded Ramrao Wadkute and Maya Ivnate.
Wadkute, once considered close to Sharad Pawar during his stint in the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, hails from the Hatkar community in the Marathwada region.
He was then elected to the state Legislative council with Pawar’s support before joining the BJP.
Maya Ivnate is a former mayor of Nagpur, and has a tribal background.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena fielded party spokesperson Jyoti Waghmare amid speculation that former Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale might be nominated.
From the Nationalist Congress Party, former deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
With this, two members of the Pawar family are set to become Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra this time.
Parth’s mother Sunetra Pawar, who is now deputy CM, is also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
